2000 AD Covers Uncovered: Simon Davis returns for Thistlebone: The Dule Tree in Prog 2364
10th January 2024
Every week, 2000 AD brings you the galaxy’s greatest artwork and 2000 AD Covers Uncovered takes you behind-the-scenes with the headline artists responsible for our top cover art – join bloggers Richard Bruton and Pete Wells as they uncover the greatest covers from 2000 AD!
In 2000 AD Prog 2364 this week we have the return of the terrifying folk horror series Thistlebone. We’ve seen two series of this one already but now writer TC Eglington and artist Simon Davis return to put another sizable shiver down your spines for the third series – The Dule Tree.
Those first two series, Thistlebone and Poisoned Roots, took us into the woods with the horrors of ancient times brought into the now with modern-day cults and ceremonial killings to chill you to the bone.
Now we’re off to a new time but one with the same old terrors and even more of the dark beauty of Simon Davis’s artwork – as perfectly captured in this early promo image…
Now, over to Simon for the making of the cover…
SIMON DAVIS: The third series of Thistlebone is largely set in the 1970’s, on the set of a horror film so I wanted the cover to have a Hammer poster feel to it so based it on one of my favourites, Dracula: AD 1972.
I did the initial rough below and decided to paint the 2000ad logo as part of the cover, to give it a more poster-like feel.
As I was to paint it in oils and as there was quite a lot of detail in it, I drew it up twice the publication size.
I drew it out and began working my way round the composition, concentrating on the individual characters and then finally bringing them all together with the white background.
And that’s how another perfectly petrifying Simon Davis cover is put together. You’ll see the cover on the front of Prog 2364, in newsagents, comic shops, and from the 2000 AD web shop.
For more on Thistlebone, be sure to check out the interview with writer TC Eglington and Simon Davis here and Simon’s previous Covers Uncovered Thistlebone pieces for Prog 2223 and Prog 2232. There’s also a great Durham Red cover for Prog 2327. There’s also the essential reading of the first Thistlebone collection that’s available in all good comic shops and from the 2000 AD web shop.